title: Unilateral enhancement of early and late blink reflex components in hemidystonia.
abstract: The side-to-side differences in the EMG activity of the early and late components of blink reflex, regarded as revealing the state of excitability of the brain stem reflex centers, have been analyzed in patients with unilateral dystonia without demonstrable brain lesions. It has been observed that both early and late responses of direct blink reflex were higher on the side affected by hemidystonia than on the contralateral one, while the latency values were in the normal range. Possibility that an abnormal output from the striatum towards the brainstem structures involved in blink reflex appears on the affected side of hemidystonic patients is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Istituti di Clinica neurologica, Università di Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raffaele
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palmeri
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ricca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casabona
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Perciavalle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001767:Blinking / Q000502:physiology*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D004421:Dystonia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004576:Electromyography; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000502:physiology